I'm going to fess up - I'm a big fan of the Tau! So where's the section about Tau on the site? Well, to be honest, I suck at painting them! I can't find a colour scheme I like (nothing as good as these anyway!) and I have trouble getting my head into the Tau universe. Hell knows why - I agree with their philosophy. BUT thankfully I can at least have some Tau units that I don't need to significantly paint - the NOT Failcast Clear Tau Stealth Suits!I first saw these months back and due to their popularity they are hard to find in stock! But here we have them, Stealth Suits the way they are meant to be - stealthy!So how do they stack up?+ + More After The Jump + +

~ WARNING - I am not a photographer, so expect dodgy pictures below

Tau Stealth Suits are such a great idea - so the ability to have miniatures that actually look like they are in stealth mode is pure genius.The set from NOT FailCast is pretty simple - you get 3 x torsos, 3 x legs, 3 x weapons arms, 3 x other arms and the parts to make 1 x drone dude. There's no sprues, just the pieces, but there is some clipping and clean up required.The first thing you notice is the foggy nature of the clear plastic (more on that later) and the hard sharp nature of it. I did manage to snap off one of the antennae, so be warned!

The legs are as you'd imagine, fairly sturdy. Only one set needed a slight bath in warm water to stand on it's own, There are no bases included, so you'll have to find your own!As with the rest of the bits, cleaning off the GW mould lines, and also the casting bits is a challenge as the plastic is clear and it's hard to see them!If I was NOT FailCast i think I would have cleaned the GW lines off first - just a thought!

Unlike the GW kit, the torsos are in one piece.. A good thing, as gluing two halves of clear plastic would ruin the effect. This is a smart move by NOT FailCast. There had been some discussion previously by reader Regnirok about the detail on the faces, but for me it looks okay so far.

The weapon arms are also assembled so the clear aspect of the suits is continuous rather than having to glue it all together. There is a bit of cleaning up in these, but surprisingly the scraping away of mould lines does not effect the sheen on the plastic.

The other arms are nicely detailed, but I found the ends of the hands to be a bit messy. You don't notice it unless you're looking closely so it probably doesn't matter that much. The ball joints on the arms are nice and clean and fit well into the torso.

The drone is very nice - and have a look at the transparency detail on the top (below)

Mould Quality

I found the mould quality to be pretty good. There is cleaning up to be done, but really, this is only if you're looking closely. If you were fielding a force of these, you could just glue them together and away you go! There aren't any significant issues with bits missing or warping, though there are some quite thick remnants of the resin channels on some bits. these are easily removed and in easy places to trim - certainly not on any key surfaces.!

Here you can see the issue with the moulding on the hands I spoke about earlier. It's not a big deal, but also not perfect.

Here you can see the remnants of the resin channel on the back of the marker light section of the drone. As I said - easy to remove.

An Old Modelling Trick To Really Bring Them To Life...

There's an old modelling trick that once this was completed I wondered if it would work - and it did!What's the trick? A soft toothbrush and some toothpaste!The idea is to use cold water and a soft toothbrush with some abrasive toothpaste (not gel) and rub it all over the clear elements - usually cockpits and windows. It scrubs them gently and takes all the outer layer off leaving a super clear and smooth surface.If you compare the shots of the parts on their own (above) and then the shots below, you'll see a big difference. I did find that warm water didn't work as well - but cold works a treat!It really improves the look of these guys - so if you do get them, then do the toothpaste trick afterwards and you won't be sorry!

You will find that this super-clear effect does fade a bit, so I'll be experimenting with clear gloss to see if it helps! Do you have any tips. that helped you?

~ UPDATE ~

Alrighty - so over time the very clear finish does fade.BUT there is a solution... a simple brush-applied coat of Citadel 'Ardcoat!Yep - literally 10 minutes and I have a permanent solution to the very transparent look.

Verdict

These are a must for any Tau force! If you use Tau Stealth Suits then surely this is something for you!The NOT FailCast Stealth Suits, I think, are great value. At $25 for the set, it's cheaper than the Games Workshop set - AND stealth - plus it's a quick build!As I said earlier, these are HOT sellers, so keep your eyes peeled..If NOT FailCast continue with smart ideas like this, they're on a winner!

... but wait - there's more!

But this isn't the only Stealth unit NOT Failcast do - they also do a Tyranid Lictor!

Hey, nice to see that your stealth suits look better than mine. You must have ordered yours after I got mine, because on mine they decided to pour the resin through the "head" or optics part on the front of the model. So where you have the optics present, I just have a big blank spot.

In terms of helping clarify them some here is what I did: Airbrush on some Future Floor Polish(it is sold in the UK as "Klear", not sure what it'd be called in Australia). Then I used my dremel stylus on the lowest speed with a polish head to polish them up. Nice and clear and free of defects aside from the unfortunate optics/head issue. I'll probably order some more now that I've seen yours.

Hey Regnirok!
Glad you like this.
What an easy build!!
Glad they at least changed the moulding for mine since your experience.
The 'ardcoat is perfect to keep the clear look - but your polish sounds good too!

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